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No 6419

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Vol cxlvi No 24

pp. 419–428

Reports

Report of the General Board on the establishment of certain Professorships

The General Board begs leave to report to the University as follows:

1. The General Board recommends the establishment of certain Professorships as set out in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 below. The funding arrangements for the Sir David Williams Professorship of Public Law and the Professorship of Public Policy were scrutinized by the Chair of the Resource Management Committee, on behalf of the Committee, on 24 February 2016 and 26 February 2016 respectively. The funding arrangements for the Russell R. Geiger Professorship of Crop Science were scrutinized by an ad hoc body consisting of the Chair of the Resource Management Committee, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) and the Academic Secretary, acting under the delegated authority of the Resource Management Committee, at a meeting held on 8 February 2016.

2. The Board has accepted an academic case from the Council of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences for the establishment of a Sir David Williams Professorship of Public Law, from 1 May 2016, in the Faculty of Law. If Recommendations I and II of this Report are approved, the Professorship will principally be funded by a benefaction of £2.5m from Robinson College to be held on trust by the University as an endowment fund and governed by the regulations in Annex I to this Report; additional costs will be met by the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences. It is further proposed that the first holder of the Sir David Williams Professorship of Public Law should be Professor Christopher Forsyth, R, currently Professor of Public Law and Private International Law ad hominem. An additional Discussion has been convened on 12 April 2016 (see p. 420) in order to enable Professor Forsyth to take up office prior to his retirement on 30 September 2016. The Board has agreed that subsequent elections to the Professorship should be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors and that the candidature should be open to all persons whose work falls within the general field of Public Law unless otherwise restricted to specific fields for a single tenure on the recommendation of the Faculty Board of Law.

3. The Board has accepted an academic case from the Council of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences for the establishment of a Professorship of Public Policy, from 1 October 2016, in the Department of Politics and International Studies. The full cost of the Professorship will be met by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences from within its recurrent Chest allocation. The Board has agreed that election to the Professorship should be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors and that the candidature should be open to all persons whose work falls within the general field of the title of the office.

4. The Board has accepted an academic case from the Council of the School of the Biological Sciences for the establishment of a Russell R. Geiger Professorship of Crop Science, from 1 October 2016, in the Department of Plant Sciences. If Recommendations IV and V of this Report are approved, the Professorship will be funded by a bequest of £1.95m from Mr Russell R. Geiger and a benefaction of £1m from Cambridge in America, following a donation from Mr Robert Cawthorn, to be held on trust by the University as an endowment fund and governed by the regulations as set out in Annex II to this Report. The Russell R. Geiger Professor of Crop Science will also be appointed as the Director of the Cambridge Centre for Crop Science, a joint research initiative with the National Institute of Agricultural Botany. The Board has agreed that election to the Professorship should be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors and that the candidature should be open to all persons whose work falls within the general field of the title of the office.

5. The General Board recommends:

I. That a Sir David Williams Professorship of Public Law be established in the University from 1 May 2016 for Professor Christopher Forsyth in the first instance, placed in the Schedule to Special Ordinance C (vii) 1, and assigned to the Faculty of Law.

II. That regulations for a Sir David Williams Professorship of Public Law Fund, as set out in Annex I to this Report, be approved.

III. That a Professorship of Public Policy be established in the University from 1 October 2016, placed in the Schedule to Special Ordinance C (vii) 1, and assigned to the Department of Politics and International Studies.

IV. That a Russell R. Geiger Professorship of Crop Science be established in the University from 1 October 2016, placed in the Schedule to Special Ordinance C (vii) 1, and assigned to the Department of Plant Sciences.

V. That regulations for a Russell R. Geiger Professorship Endowment Fund, as set out in Annex II to this Report, be approved.

9 March 2016

L. K. Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor

A. L. Greer

Helen Thompson

Philip Allmendinger

Martin Millett

Graham Virgo

Abigail Fowden

Rachael Padman

Chris Young

David Good

Richard Prager

Annex I

Sir David Williams Professorship of Public Law Fund

1. The funds received from Robinson College, together with such other sums as may be received or applied for the same purpose, shall form an endowment fund called the Sir David Williams Professorship of Public Law Fund to advance research in the field of public law by supporting a Sir David Williams Professorship of Public Law.

2. The Managers shall be responsible for the administration of the Fund and the application of its income, and shall comprise:

(a)the Chair of the Faculty Board of Law, who shall be Chair;

(b)the Head of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences or her or his deputy;

(c)a member appointed by the Council of Robinson College for such period as the Council of Robinson College shall determine.

3. Subject to Regulation 4, the income of the Fund shall be applied towards the payment of the stipend, national insurance, pension contributions, and associated indirect costs of the Professorship payable by the University.

4. Any unexpended income in any financial year, including income accrued during a vacancy in the Professorship, may, at the discretion of the Managers:

(a)with the approval of the Faculty Board of Law, be applied to support the work of the Professor in such manner as may be recommended by the Managers;

(b)with the approval of the General Board, be applied to support research in the field of public law in the University in such manner as may be recommended by the Managers; and/or

(c)be carried forward for use as income in accordance with Regulation 3 in any one or more subsequent financial years.

Annex II

Russell R. Geiger Professorship Endowment Fund

1. The funds received from Cambridge in America, following a bequest from Mr Russell R. Geiger, together with such other sums as may be received or applied for the same purpose, shall be used to form an endowment fund called the Russell R. Geiger Professorship Endowment Fund to support a Professorship in the University.

2. In accordance with the terms of the bequest, the University has determined that the income of the Fund shall be applied towards the payment of the stipend, national insurance, pension contributions, and associated indirect costs of a Russell R. Geiger Professorship of Crop Science payable by the University.

3. The Managers shall be responsible for the administration of the Fund and the application of its income and shall comprise the Head of the Department of Plant Sciences as Chair, the Head of the School of the Biological Sciences or her or his deputy, and at least one but no more than three members of the Department of Plant Sciences appointed by the Faculty Board of Biology for such period as the Board shall determine.

4. Any unexpended income in any financial year, including income accrued during a vacancy in the Professorship may, at the discretion of the Managers:

(a)with the approval of the Faculty Board of Biology, be applied to support the work of the Professor in such manner as may be recommended by the Managers;

(b)with the approval of the General Board, be applied to support research in the field of plant sciences in the University in such manner as may be recommended by the Managers; and/or

(c)be carried forward for use as income in accordance with Regulation 2 in any one or more subsequent financial years.